Department for Communities and Local Government

Council Tax: North East

Baroness Armstrong of Hill Top: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what they estimate will be the amount raised as a result of the two per cent flexibility increase in council tax rates by (1) Newcastle City Council, (2) Northumberland County Council, (3) North Tyneside Council, (4) South Tyneside Council, (5) Gateshead Council, (6) Sunderland City Council, and (7) Durham County Council, in the next financial year.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: Each of these authorities chose to use the full two per cent adult social care precept. Local authorities have estimated how much they expect to raise in council tax receipts, and this is among the information in the Department’s recent National Statistics publication, Council Tax levels set by local authorities in England 2016 to 2017.The additional receipts as a result of the adult social care precept for 2016-17 for these authorities are shown in the table. Estimated additional council tax revenue in 2016-17 as a result of each local authority's use of the adult social care precept (£)Durham3,574,000Gateshead1,485,000Newcastle upon Tyne1,752,000North Tyneside1,512,000Northumberland2,828,000South Tyneside974,000Sunderland1,602,000 Source: Table 9, Council Tax levels set by local authorities in England 2016 to 2017, Department for Communities and Local Government (https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/council-tax-levels-set-by-local-authorities-in-england-2016-to-2017) 



core spending power
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Department for Education

Academies

Lord Ouseley: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what quality of education criteria and evidence of education achievement levels have been considered to justify the proposed academisation of schools.

Lord Nash: The plan for all schools to become academies forms part of our recent White Paper, Educational Excellence Everywhere. Our focus is on increasing the quality of education and ensuring that schools are able to raise standards and deliver the best outcomes for children.The academies programme is already helping to turn around struggling schools while offering our best schools the freedom to excel. Results from 2015 show that primary sponsored academies open for two years have improved their results by an average of 10 percentage points since opening. This is more than double the rate of improvement in local authority maintained schools over the same period. In addition, the 2015 GCSE results show that secondary converter academies are outperforming the national average and, despite starting from a high bar, show continued improvement.Indeed, as Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector (HMCI) set out in the latest Ofsted annual report, academisation can lead to rapid improvements. In his letter of 10 March 2016 to the Secretary of State, HMCI also confirmed his belief that it is right to give greater autonomy to the front line and that there are some excellent multi-academy trusts that have made remarkable progress in some of the toughest areas of the country.It is through the academies programme that we are giving more power, responsibility and freedoms directly to education professionals, who know what is best for their pupils, but within a strong framework of accountability. Academies working together in Multi-Academy Trusts are achieving substantial benefits from economies of scale, consistent practices, substantially enhanced career and leadership development opportunities for their staff and many others.In addition, the international evidence shows that autonomy for schools, with strong leadership and accountability in place, is linked to improved performance. A PISA in Focus study from 2011, for example, concluded “it is a combination of several autonomy and accountability policies, not just a single, isolated policy that is related to better student outcomes”.A fully academised schools system, in which great teachers and leaders are able to spread their influence, strong multi-academy trusts can grow, and underperformance is swiftly tackled, will help ensure that every child receives an excellent education.

Schools: Textbooks

Lord Hunt of Chesterton: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what their policy is for the provision of textbooks and exercise books in primary and secondary schools in England; and what assessment they have made of differences in provision between the UK and other European countries.

Lord Nash: Good teaching and high academic standards are strongly associated with adequate provision and widespread use of high-quality textbooks.Cambridge Assessment’s report, ‘Why textbooks count’, analysed the use of high-quality textbooks around the world. The report found that use of textbooks is common in high performing education jurisdictions. In Finland, 95% of maths teachers use a textbook as a basis for instruction. In Singapore, 70% of maths teachers use a textbook. In England, only 10% of maths teachers use a textbook for their core teaching.A well-designed textbook provides a coherent, structured programme which supports a teacher’s own expertise and knowledge as well as a pupil’s.On 26 March 2016, the Department for Education published a report from a review group looking at teacher workload in relation to planning and resources. The group concluded there is a case for schools to place greater emphasis on quality- assured resources, including textbooks, to reduce the time teachers spend on searching for resources.Good textbooks also have workbooks which support homework in a positive way by providing well-structured practice exercises linked to clear explanations, which parents can understand and use to help their children.We have been working with textbook publishers with the aim of improving the quality of textbooks available to schools, to better support excellent teaching and teacher professional development. Last year, the publishers produced a set of common guidelines for the production of textbooks.

Teachers: Males

Lord Stoddart of Swindon: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Nash on 17 March concerning the number of male teachers in state schools (HL6877), what evidence they have of the effect of the ratio of male teachers in primary and secondary schools on male students, specifically on deprived white male students.

Lord Nash: Research published by the Department for Education and Skills in 2007 suggests that the gender of the teacher does not have a measurable impact on pupils’ educational outcomes. This publication is attached and available at: http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20130401151715/http://www.education.gov.uk/publications/eOrderingDownload/00389-2007BKT-EN.pdfThe Government’s recent White Paper, Educational Excellence Everywhere, sets out our proposed reforms to teacher training and recruitment to ensure there are enough good teachers in every school, with the focus being on building a talented and diverse workforce.



Gender_and_education_evidence_on_pupils
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Home Office

Peers: Correspondence

Lord Ahmed: To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they will reply to the letter from Lord Ahmed to the Home Secretary, the Rt Hon Theresa May, dated 9 February 2016.

Lord Keen of Elie: I must apologise for the delay in responding to your letter. The response was sent on 29 March.